Translated by Jouissance of Exiled Rebel Scanlations
The thirty different magic herbs that were required to refine a Bone Growth pill were all thrown in by You XiaoMo.
He had learned how to multitask when refining pills and could now easily distill tens of herbs at once.
Yet his actions startled the watching mentors and elders. No matter the pill, being able to throw all the magic herbs into the cauldron at once without worry at this age took some courage. No wonder Duan QiTian would take him in as a student.
After throwing in all the magic herbs, You XiaoMo didn’t make to move his hands.
Ever since the old geezer taught him how to refine pills with the power of his soul alone, he hadn’t refined a single pill with his hands, even when just practicing.
Under his control, the thirty magic herbs gradually melted into a pool of multicolored liquid. With the strength of his soul force, the impurities drifted out from the liquid. Since the herbs were all high quality, the distillation didn’t strip it of many impurities.
The number of times high quality level six magic herbs could be distilled wasn’t very high. Like level five magic herbs, it could only be distilled four times.
You XiaoMo had to be more careful than usual since there was a larger number of herbs being distilled, so it took him more time, too. By the time he repeated his distillation for the fourth time, only an hour had passed. Usually, he would need another half hour to finish.
You XiaoMo stared at the liquified magic herbs inside his cauldron; the thirty balls of liquid lay peacefully suspended within the cauldron. He then looked up at the hourglass; there were two hours remaining.
This was just the amount of time he needed for the Bone Growth pill, because the merging had twenty one more steps than the Purple Cloud pill he had originally practiced with.
Thinking of this, You XiaoMo brought back together the soul force he had made into thin threads. Looking at the pools of liquified magic herbs, You XiaoMo took a deep breath and focused on refining the pill.
As the competition commenced, the rowdy stadium became silent. Occasionally, you could hear the rattle of cauldrons in front of the participants. Not even half the time had passed and some had already failed on the distillation.
On the other side, a few places in front of and to the left of You XiaoMo, Teng ZiXin stared imposingly at the magic herbs inside her cauldron.
She had used almost half the time to finish distilling all the herbs, but she didn’t have much confidence in merging them. The level of the magic pill was even higher than her own level, and then there was the quality of the herbs.
After a bit of hesitation, Teng ZiXin turned her hand and something appeared in her palm. If You XiaoMo had seen this, he would’ve recognized it instantly because that something was his half a vial of spiritual water.
All mages knew the effects of spiritual water. If they added a few drops to the pill they were refining, then they could increase their success rate and improve the quality of the pill without fail. Apart from that, spiritual water could also replenish one’s soul force.
Thinking of all the benefits the spiritual water could bring, Teng ZiXin gritted her teeth and poured five drops in. It wasn’t a small amount, but she still glanced in You XiaoMo’s direction with slight guilt.
Don’t blame her for playing dirty, they were enemies. To assure her victory, she would be willing to play dirty any time. Plus, You XiaoMo might have more spiritual water on him, so she was definitely unwilling to lose to him in public.
Spiritual water was great, but Teng ZiXin didn’t know…when You XiaoMo refined pills, he never added spiritual water to his cauldron. He only drank it when it became necessary.
Like when he had to refine a large number of pills, he needed to do so continuously, so he would use spiritual water to replenish his soul force. But when he wasn’t going to refine so many, he would let his soul force recover by itself.
As soon as the spiritual water entered the cauldron, the spiritual energy around the cauldron started to pulse wildly for a full ten seconds or so. But because everyone around her was focused on refining pills, no one noticed.
But this didn’t mean that no one in the audience noticed.
In the participant’s stands, Ling Xiao, who had been lazily watching You XiaoMo refine pills, turned his suddenly sharp gaze on Teng ZiXin. Purple flames danced within his dark eyes, and then disappeared silently once more.
When there was only one tenth left in the hourglass, people started to finish their pills one by one. The entire stadium was filled with a herbal fragrance.
Watching the pill slowly form in his cauldron, You XiaoMo lifted his hand to wipe off some sweat.
He was right. Though he was only a low grade level six mage, he could make upper grade level six magic pills with his soul force. But he couldn’t relax just yet, the Bone Growth pill in his cauldron was in its final steps. If he let down his guard now, then all his efforts would be for naught.
You XiaoMo took a deep breath, starting the last few steps to refining his pill.
On the other side, Teng ZiXin’s speed was about the same as You XiaoMo with the help of the spiritual water.
As for Tong YueXu, he had struggled to raise his ability, so he could only refine low grade level six pills, and was faster than them. After another fifteen minutes, his magic pill was done. Though he had struggled a bit, but the quality of the pill was impressive, a high grade one. Of course, with his background, it wasn’t hard to get high grade magic herbs.
This scene caused the onlooking mentors and elders to nod in approval. Though Tong YueXu’s natural talent wasn’t as good as You XiaoMo or Teng ZiXin, he was diligent and hardworking, and they were lucky to have him.
Just as everyone was looking at Tong YueXu in surprise, another cry of success rang out.
Everyone turned to look. It was Teng ZiXin, and as her serious voice fell, a thick herbal fragrance drifted out from her cauldron, one that was denser than the others.
The mentors all showed surprise, “Is that a mid grade level six pill?”
Teng ZiXin was only at the peak of the lower grade among level six mages. Her ability must be very impressive if she was able to refine a mid grade level six pill. Even they would have trouble overcoming the barriers between grades.
What they didn’t know was that Teng ZiXin’s pill was actually low grade, but she used spiritual water to improve the grade of her pill to mid. Though this wasn’t common, it wasn’t impossible either.
“That’s not all. She even used high quality magic herbs to refine this pill in this competition, it seems like she really wants to win You XiaoMo,” a mentor expressed in shock, moving his gaze to You XiaoMo.
Hearing this, the other mentors and elder all looked towards You XiaoMo. He seemed calm, unaffected by Teng ZiXin. His heart seemed strong, but they didn’t know if he could do better than Teng ZiXin.
As if responding to their thoughts, something finally occurred in You XiaoMo’s cauldron. A herbal fragrance even denser than Teng ZiXin’s pill wafted out from the cauldron with a light pulse.
Since You XiaoMo hadn’t let a single thread of soul force slip from his grasp, no one was able to estimate the level of the pill he was refining. Now that it did, everyone noticed.
“Fuck, this can’t be a high grade level six pill can it?” Gazing at You XiaoMo’s cauldron, murmurs of shock travelled through the audience.
But some couldn’t believe it. A low grade level six mage refining a high grade pill? What a joke!
“That’s not all,” Fifth Elder Dong Lin stroked his shiny black beard, calm as can be, “That pill isn’t just a high grade level six pill, but it’s also of a high quality. He used high quality magic herbs. Seemed like victory is fated to be his!”
Hearing the elder’s words, the surrounding mentors and elders exchanged looks. If the Fifth Elder could say this with such certainty, then it seemed the results were clear.
Not far off, Teng ZiXin looked on, stunned. She felt disorientated, and her thoughts seemed muddled. Her confidence from before had been completely shattered. She was very clear as to what level You XiaoMo was. Being able to refine a high grade level six pill as a low grade level six mage was an achievement she couldn’t beat.
“I lost to You XiaoMo again?” Teng ZiXin clenched her fist, the shock retreating and being replaced by rage. Teng ZiXin took a deep breath. She could only hope that You XiaoMo’s pill wasn’t of a good quality. That was the only way the difference in their points wouldn’t increase further.
As the sand in the hourglass finished falling, the Fifth Elder finally stood, raising his hand and announcing, “I declare the first round to be over. Now, starting with those at the first counter, come up and identify your pills. Those who have failed should back out gracefully.”
As his words fell, some fell in disappointment, and some walked up to the Fifth Elder with confidence. In front of him, there were ten examiners.
